What to look for in a house in Wellington ?
Mar 7th 2013, 10:13 am
#16
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Re: What to look for in a house in Wellington ?
This one is good, very near to my former rental: http://www.trademe.co.nz/property/re...-568867985.htm
Extremely safe area, uphill walk to Khandallah shops, short walk to local Junior school. In catchment for Onslow College for Senior.
Windy but nice.
Note you need to pay a couple of 100 dollars more than your budget and it has heating and double glazing too!
It is definitely worth paying a higher rent for the comforts(basics?) of heating. Damp is bad for health.
By the way houses like this one were going for NZ$1000pw 3 years ago.
It would be a hell of a cycle down the hill from that house, then flat all the way to Miramar along the Hutt Road. It is an easy drive though and there are buses and trains in Khandallah.
Extremely safe area, uphill walk to Khandallah shops, short walk to local Junior school. In catchment for Onslow College for Senior.
Windy but nice.
Note you need to pay a couple of 100 dollars more than your budget and it has heating and double glazing too!
It is definitely worth paying a higher rent for the comforts(basics?) of heating. Damp is bad for health.
By the way houses like this one were going for NZ$1000pw 3 years ago.
It would be a hell of a cycle down the hill from that house, then flat all the way to Miramar along the Hutt Road. It is an easy drive though and there are buses and trains in Khandallah.
Last edited by luvwelly; Mar 7th 2013 at 10:19 am.
Mar 7th 2013, 1:06 pm
#17
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Thread Starter
Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 64
Re: What to look for in a house in Wellington ?
Damp is the NO 1 thing you do not want but is very common in houses in Wellington.
Full sun is a massive bonus and worth putting up with wind for (full sun also counteracts damp). For instance my first rented villa was set into the hillside and therefore despite having heating had damp issues in the lower portion of the house, the rent was NZ$750per week 6 years ago.
My second villa in Khandallah was slightly more expensive, much better, it got full sun and was on top of a hill(windy) rather than set into it and it had fantastic views. It also had a heat pump which worked pretty well. There was insulation in the roof space and the bills were much lower than in the first house.
On your budget(depending on how many bedrooms you need), it might not be so easy to get heating, so plan to buy free-standing radiators and try to get a house which is not too set into the hillside and not surrounded by vegetation. At the end of the day you can only rent what is available.
If you lived in Central Wellington rather than in Miramar(or other Eastern suburbs: Lyall Bay, Island Bay, Kilbirnie, Hataitai, Seatoun), there are 3 routes through/around Mount Victoria but as a cyclist you would probably favour cycling along Oriental Bay(7km) to Miramar which would be the fastest of the 3 routes anyway(one of which is the Mount Victoria Tunnel which is very congested for cars in rush hour but not bikes).
There are no trains on the Eastern side but plenty of buses. I wouldn't personally cycle in Wellington but many people do and in the flat areas such as Oriental Bay, it is a better option than in the hilly areas.
You need to be more careful in eastern suburbs about the decile of the school Hataitai, Roseneath, Seatoun, Island Bay are decile 10 but the rental prices may reflect this. There are no decile 10 senior schools in Eastern suburbs and very little choice, just one or two.
Wellington Girls and Wellington College are supposed to be the best state schools in Wellington but their catchments are not the same so be careful depending on the sex of your kids.
Wellington Girls East(girls) is probably a better option than Rongotai(boys) which are the main Eastern suburb senior schools. There is also a Catholic option for boys St Pats in Kilbirnie(not to be confused with the one in the Hutt Valley).
So familiarise yourself with the suburbs layout on google maps and streetview, see what rentals are available, check school zones and go from there. If it won't be your forever rental then you can afford to be less fussy anyway.
Many people who live outside the school zone for Wellington College(Boys) opt for private schools in the area. The only mixed private school in Wellington itself( and it only goes up to Y8) is St Mark's Church School on the Basin Reserve.
My comments only relate to Wellington City. All your options change as you go out through Petone into the Hutt Valley but you are then looking at commuting into Miramar which is quite a way further on than Wellington CBD itself.
If you do end up in Miramar working, try out Cafe Polo for food and coffee - one of the ones we miss.
Going in the Porirua direction, Johnsonville (a bit further on from Khandallah - Onslow College Senior School has good rep) and Churton Park are also worth looking into. Churton Park has mainly newbuild housing but it is very spacious and I had friends who lived there.
Parking is not usually an issue in residential areas of Wellington unless very central.
Full sun is a massive bonus and worth putting up with wind for (full sun also counteracts damp). For instance my first rented villa was set into the hillside and therefore despite having heating had damp issues in the lower portion of the house, the rent was NZ$750per week 6 years ago.
My second villa in Khandallah was slightly more expensive, much better, it got full sun and was on top of a hill(windy) rather than set into it and it had fantastic views. It also had a heat pump which worked pretty well. There was insulation in the roof space and the bills were much lower than in the first house.
On your budget(depending on how many bedrooms you need), it might not be so easy to get heating, so plan to buy free-standing radiators and try to get a house which is not too set into the hillside and not surrounded by vegetation. At the end of the day you can only rent what is available.
If you lived in Central Wellington rather than in Miramar(or other Eastern suburbs: Lyall Bay, Island Bay, Kilbirnie, Hataitai, Seatoun), there are 3 routes through/around Mount Victoria but as a cyclist you would probably favour cycling along Oriental Bay(7km) to Miramar which would be the fastest of the 3 routes anyway(one of which is the Mount Victoria Tunnel which is very congested for cars in rush hour but not bikes).
There are no trains on the Eastern side but plenty of buses. I wouldn't personally cycle in Wellington but many people do and in the flat areas such as Oriental Bay, it is a better option than in the hilly areas.
You need to be more careful in eastern suburbs about the decile of the school Hataitai, Roseneath, Seatoun, Island Bay are decile 10 but the rental prices may reflect this. There are no decile 10 senior schools in Eastern suburbs and very little choice, just one or two.
Wellington Girls and Wellington College are supposed to be the best state schools in Wellington but their catchments are not the same so be careful depending on the sex of your kids.
Wellington Girls East(girls) is probably a better option than Rongotai(boys) which are the main Eastern suburb senior schools. There is also a Catholic option for boys St Pats in Kilbirnie(not to be confused with the one in the Hutt Valley).
So familiarise yourself with the suburbs layout on google maps and streetview, see what rentals are available, check school zones and go from there. If it won't be your forever rental then you can afford to be less fussy anyway.
Many people who live outside the school zone for Wellington College(Boys) opt for private schools in the area. The only mixed private school in Wellington itself( and it only goes up to Y8) is St Mark's Church School on the Basin Reserve.
My comments only relate to Wellington City. All your options change as you go out through Petone into the Hutt Valley but you are then looking at commuting into Miramar which is quite a way further on than Wellington CBD itself.
If you do end up in Miramar working, try out Cafe Polo for food and coffee - one of the ones we miss.
Going in the Porirua direction, Johnsonville (a bit further on from Khandallah - Onslow College Senior School has good rep) and Churton Park are also worth looking into. Churton Park has mainly newbuild housing but it is very spacious and I had friends who lived there.
Parking is not usually an issue in residential areas of Wellington unless very central.
Wow, thank you LuvWelly
A fantastic and comprehensive post...... it sure does return the feeling of that there is some humanity in this crazy world (or has London affected me too much) !!
I don't know how to copy the other posts into the same email, but they are all great.Thank you for the info on the zones, decile info and the schools.
I stated a cycle commute to work as I don't know the layout of the city yet and want to make sure that my family isn't too far from the city (if there is a centre) hen we initially arrive. Also I enjoy cycling and would like the challenge of the hills ! Being close to as much as possible seems ideal, then we can move out once we find our feet and the area that we like (and can afford). If we can we would like to cut out as much commuting as possible, but again until we live there we can't make any plans.
I can put up with the wind for a view, but time and experience will tell I guess. I will take on the advice re: vegetation and hills. My youngest doesn't have a problem with gradients, but I might when carrying shopping
. Having lush vegetation looks so attractive to us, not having it here on our doorstep, but we'll see. Once I have time to go through all of your post LuvWelly I will try to stump you or others with further (you may find inane) questions.
I'll research the cost of free standing radiators here and in NZ and maybe put a few in the container.
I am a coffee lover, I'm thinking of bringing a pallet of coffee (Illy half price in Tescos at the moment) out if it is super expensive there..........
I will go through your post once I have cleared my JobsToDo tray !!
Thank you again, all this advice really helps.
Mar 7th 2013, 7:10 pm
#18
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Joined: Apr 2006
Location: Wellington
Posts: 123
Re: What to look for in a house in Wellington ?
You need to be more careful in eastern suburbs about the decile of the school Hataitai, Roseneath, Seatoun, Island Bay are decile 10 but the rental prices may reflect this. There are no decile 10 senior schools in Eastern suburbs and very little choice, just one or two.
To clarify this is not true. Decile is not a rating of how good the school is but the socio-economic level of the community served by the school.
So the higher the decile of the school, means the median income is higher of the catchment area. What this means is that the higher the decile, the less funding the school gets from the government. The lower the decile schools get HEAPS more funding and are consequently often better equipped in terms of resources and often have more teacher aides than decile 10 schools which rely on parental donations.
My partner works in a decile 10 primary school and they struggle so much with funding. She has to buy all her own resources and stationary from her own wages. She has 2 pcs in her classroom which are 9 years old running windows 95. On the contrary her friend works in a decile 5 school and she is lavished with stationary and has a full time teacher aide in the classroom and 1 year old PC's and an ipad, and an interactive whiteboard
Mar 7th 2013, 10:28 pm
#19
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Posts: 2,285
Re: What to look for in a house in Wellington ?
If you consider peer group to be an important influence then the pupils attending a school in a wealthier area will likely have less social issues.
Obviously before renting a house, the schools in zone should be visited to check them out. You can also check up ERO reports (ofsted equivalent but less scathing in general).
I'd rather have a calm classroom and an old-fashioned blackboard than the reverse if you see what I mean.
The higher decile schools are meant to charge the difference to the parents as their contribution - so that could be an issue if the parents do not pay up willingly I suppose.
Mar 7th 2013, 11:18 pm
#20
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Joined: Nov 2007
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Posts: 1,756
Re: What to look for in a house in Wellington ?
From http://roaringfourties-nzl727.blogsp...t-city-in.html
Wellington wind summary:
• Wellington is located in a River of Wind - a wind corridor between the South Island and the North Island.
• Wellington is the windiest main centre in New Zealand with a mean annual wind speed of 22 km/h.
• Wellington also has an average of 22 days per year with mean wind speeds over 63 km/h (40 knots).
• Wellington averages 173 days a year with wind gusts greater than about 60 km/h or 32 knots.
• October is generally the windiest month of the year with a mean of 27 days with wind speeds over 15 knots, 19 of those days are over 20 knots.
• North is by far the most common wind direction, blowing from this direction (0 degrees) a massive 37.6% of the time.
• Wellington is one of the windiest cities in the world (possibly the windiest) and is windier than other southern windy cities including Cape Town, Perth, and Geraldton.
• The strongest wind speeds where recorded at Hawkins Hill of 248km/h (134 knots) on the 6 November 1959 and 4 July 1962.
Wellington wind summary:
• Wellington is located in a River of Wind - a wind corridor between the South Island and the North Island.
• Wellington is the windiest main centre in New Zealand with a mean annual wind speed of 22 km/h.
• Wellington also has an average of 22 days per year with mean wind speeds over 63 km/h (40 knots).
• Wellington averages 173 days a year with wind gusts greater than about 60 km/h or 32 knots.
• October is generally the windiest month of the year with a mean of 27 days with wind speeds over 15 knots, 19 of those days are over 20 knots.
• North is by far the most common wind direction, blowing from this direction (0 degrees) a massive 37.6% of the time.
• Wellington is one of the windiest cities in the world (possibly the windiest) and is windier than other southern windy cities including Cape Town, Perth, and Geraldton.
• The strongest wind speeds where recorded at Hawkins Hill of 248km/h (134 knots) on the 6 November 1959 and 4 July 1962.
but still,,,I do think Wellington has better weather than Auckland...
Strong Wind is far better than sticky hot humid etc.
Mar 8th 2013, 2:24 am
#21
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Joined: Mar 2008
Location: Kapiti Coast, Wellington
Posts: 704
Re: What to look for in a house in Wellington ?
Your discussion about decile ratings is precisely why ERO are removing decile ratings from their reports. Decile ratings refer to the funding based on a very small socio economic analysis of the area not the quality of teaching or school. As a teacher I have seen children and parents in decile 10 schools having issues but they may be different ones to those in decile 1 schools. The best thing to do is to visit any schools you may be interested in - they will be happy to show you round, read between the lines of the ERO reports and ask the Principals lots of questions. When we were on our reccie our kids tried a couple of schools out for about an hour to see what they thought.
In regards to housing there are couple of points you may want to add to your list:
Houses on concrete bases are warmer than those which are raised up off the ground which many are. If you view a house that is raised, check it has underfloor insulation, you will need it. The wind and damp in the void caused problems in the first house we stayed in, any clothes left on the floor were damp by morning.
Visit the house at different times of the day to see where the sun shines/shadows fall. Kiwi homes rely on the sun for heating so you want your lounge and garden to be sunny (north facing). I think someone else mentioned that those houses surrounded by bush can suffer from more damp.
Take your time looking round and go with a list of things to check out for. Homes are constructed very differently to the UK (fortunately if there was an earthquake) and don't sign a long contract unless you are sure it will be fine all year round.
If you're a coffee fan, you will love Wellington - coffee is sold everywhere! And remember Wellington is a small city by UK standards and you can walk and park round the CBD/waterfront easily any day. You can park in the CBD for free at the weekends for 2 hours. Daily rates are around $10 per day I think???? Parking won't be an issue in Miramar, it'll be free I think.
Enjoy - when Wellington is sunny it is superb with a lovely centre and beaches, when it's cold and windy....mmmmm......we often joke that the people on the cruise liners must either get a really good or bad impression of Wellington depending on the weather on the day they visit!
In regards to housing there are couple of points you may want to add to your list:
Houses on concrete bases are warmer than those which are raised up off the ground which many are. If you view a house that is raised, check it has underfloor insulation, you will need it. The wind and damp in the void caused problems in the first house we stayed in, any clothes left on the floor were damp by morning.
Visit the house at different times of the day to see where the sun shines/shadows fall. Kiwi homes rely on the sun for heating so you want your lounge and garden to be sunny (north facing). I think someone else mentioned that those houses surrounded by bush can suffer from more damp.
Take your time looking round and go with a list of things to check out for. Homes are constructed very differently to the UK (fortunately if there was an earthquake) and don't sign a long contract unless you are sure it will be fine all year round.
If you're a coffee fan, you will love Wellington - coffee is sold everywhere! And remember Wellington is a small city by UK standards and you can walk and park round the CBD/waterfront easily any day. You can park in the CBD for free at the weekends for 2 hours. Daily rates are around $10 per day I think???? Parking won't be an issue in Miramar, it'll be free I think.
Enjoy - when Wellington is sunny it is superb with a lovely centre and beaches, when it's cold and windy....mmmmm......we often joke that the people on the cruise liners must either get a really good or bad impression of Wellington depending on the weather on the day they visit!
Last edited by MOSO; Mar 8th 2013 at 2:56 am.
Mar 8th 2013, 3:01 am
#22
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Joined: Mar 2008
Location: Kapiti Coast, Wellington
Posts: 704
Re: What to look for in a house in Wellington ?
Forgot the list of schools in the Wellington area - we found it really helpful when looking:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...lington_Region
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...lington_Region
Mar 11th 2013, 6:52 am
#23
Forum Regular
Thread Starter
Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 64
Re: What to look for in a house in Wellington ?
Your discussion about decile ratings is precisely why ERO are removing decile ratings from their reports. Decile ratings refer to the funding based on a very small socio economic analysis of the area not the quality of teaching or school. As a teacher I have seen children and parents in decile 10 schools having issues but they may be different ones to those in decile 1 schools. The best thing to do is to visit any schools you may be interested in - they will be happy to show you round, read between the lines of the ERO reports and ask the Principals lots of questions. When we were on our reccie our kids tried a couple of schools out for about an hour to see what they thought.
In regards to housing there are couple of points you may want to add to your list:
Houses on concrete bases are warmer than those which are raised up off the ground which many are. If you view a house that is raised, check it has underfloor insulation, you will need it. The wind and damp in the void caused problems in the first house we stayed in, any clothes left on the floor were damp by morning.
Visit the house at different times of the day to see where the sun shines/shadows fall. Kiwi homes rely on the sun for heating so you want your lounge and garden to be sunny (north facing). I think someone else mentioned that those houses surrounded by bush can suffer from more damp.
Take your time looking round and go with a list of things to check out for. Homes are constructed very differently to the UK (fortunately if there was an earthquake) and don't sign a long contract unless you are sure it will be fine all year round.
If you're a coffee fan, you will love Wellington - coffee is sold everywhere! And remember Wellington is a small city by UK standards and you can walk and park round the CBD/waterfront easily any day. You can park in the CBD for free at the weekends for 2 hours. Daily rates are around $10 per day I think???? Parking won't be an issue in Miramar, it'll be free I think.
Enjoy - when Wellington is sunny it is superb with a lovely centre and beaches, when it's cold and windy....mmmmm......we often joke that the people on the cruise liners must either get a really good or bad impression of Wellington depending on the weather on the day they visit!
In regards to housing there are couple of points you may want to add to your list:
Houses on concrete bases are warmer than those which are raised up off the ground which many are. If you view a house that is raised, check it has underfloor insulation, you will need it. The wind and damp in the void caused problems in the first house we stayed in, any clothes left on the floor were damp by morning.
Visit the house at different times of the day to see where the sun shines/shadows fall. Kiwi homes rely on the sun for heating so you want your lounge and garden to be sunny (north facing). I think someone else mentioned that those houses surrounded by bush can suffer from more damp.
Take your time looking round and go with a list of things to check out for. Homes are constructed very differently to the UK (fortunately if there was an earthquake) and don't sign a long contract unless you are sure it will be fine all year round.
If you're a coffee fan, you will love Wellington - coffee is sold everywhere! And remember Wellington is a small city by UK standards and you can walk and park round the CBD/waterfront easily any day. You can park in the CBD for free at the weekends for 2 hours. Daily rates are around $10 per day I think???? Parking won't be an issue in Miramar, it'll be free I think.
Enjoy - when Wellington is sunny it is superb with a lovely centre and beaches, when it's cold and windy....mmmmm......we often joke that the people on the cruise liners must either get a really good or bad impression of Wellington depending on the weather on the day they visit!
Thank you for your reply too, been away from the computer due to work commitments....... All the advice is a fantastic help, could not have gleaned most all of this information simply by cruising the internet.
My wife is having some doubts re: 'expensive' cost of living and the 'build' of housing, but it's not a deal breaker. If millions of people live with these issues, I'm sure we can manage !! Have been reading feverishly this forum on other related issues with relocating and trying to keep some posts in perspective. I appreciate that a 'career' progression may take a back seat in comparison to London etc I understand that NZ are a group of islands in the Pacific some distance away from other populated land masses. But if your eyes are open and the research has been thorough............you can gauge with some certainty wether relocating is your you or not.
Thanks to everyone for the help, it's greatly appreciated.
Looking forward to the move.
